The 11th American Zone Youth Championships were declared open on Saturday evening at 7 pm in Puebla, Mexico. Attending the Opening Ceremony were American Zone president Jose Guandique, El Salvador, the presidium (pictured), Mexican Bowling Federation president Dr. Jose Aguilar and representatives of the local authorities.

The championships will be held at 28-laner Bol La Noria Pro. The competition starts on Sunday morning with the Boys Singles event and continues with the Girls Singles in the afternoon. The 11th American Zone Youth Championships run through Friday, June 16.

Nine countries, Brazil, Canadá, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, United States, Venezuela and the host country México, will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in Boys and Girls Singles, Doubles, Teams, All Events and Masters.

Each participating country can send a maximum of eight players to the championship - four male and four female - who were twenty years old or less on January 1, 2006.

John Davis, chairman of the WTBA Technical Committee (pictured at work in Bowl La Noria), has designed the oil patterns to be used in the championships, a 35-foot short oil pattern and a 43-foot long oil pattern.

11th American Zone Youth Championships - Oil Pattern

Click on the picture to enlarge it!

Participating Countries and Players

Brazil
Boys: Marcelo Suartz, Renan Guerra, Charles Robini, Thiago Travagini
Girls: Roberta Rodriguez, Stephanie Martins, Nathalia Travagini, Mariana Cristina

Canadá
Boys: Christopher Bunnage, Darren Klassen, Steven Uchikata, Mathieu Vallieres
Girls: Jennifer Besana, Casondra Campbell, Kodee Pilling, Felicia Wong

Dominican Republic
Boys: Joshua Villari, Alejandro Prats, Manino Fernandez
Girls:

El Salvador
Boys: Aldo Rivera, Rudy Quintanilla, Juan Escobar, Francisco Gamero
Girls: Edith Quintanlla, Roxana Fajardo, Sabrina Serrano, Lys Harrison

Guatemala
Boys: Jorge Samayoa, Armando D. Batres Reyes, Andres Castillo, Brian Lopez
Girls: Nancy Morales, Pamela De Monzon, Laura Barrios

México
Boys: Juan Gonzalez Alarcon, Jose Salinas Villarreal, Humberto Vazquez Morales, Isi Eskenazi Yaakovsky
Girls: Ana Isabel Gonzalez Gonzalez, Daniela Alvarado Nava, Patricia Contreras Aviles, Lilia Robles Gonzalez

Puerto Rico
Boys: Joel Orta, Israel O. Hernandez, Javier J. Diaz, Luis A. Gonzalez
Girls: Jessica M. Santiago, Idaliz Noble, Lynda M. Martinez, Monica M. Guzman

United States
Boys: Matthew O'Grady, Daniel Farish, Josh Blanchard, Daniel Vick
Girls: Kayla Bandy, Bryana Caldwell, Emily Maier, Rose Brown

Venezuela
Boys: Ildemaro Ruiz, Rafael Medina, Luis E. Rovaina, Bruno Galli
Girls: Patricia De Faria, Esther Francys Alvarez, Joan Gonzalez, Jackeline Gerani

Previous American Zone Youth Championships

1986 Caracas, Venezuela
1988 San Juan, Puerto Rico
1991 Guadalajara, Mexico
1993 Barranquilla, Colombia
1995 Guayaquil, Ecuador
1997 Orlando, Florida
1998 Guatemala City, Guatemala
2000 Cancun, Mexico
2002 San Jose, Costa Rica
2004 Guatemala City, Guatemala

11th American Zone Youth Championships - Schedule of Events

June 8-9, 2006
Arrival of delegations, Referee Clinic (Instructor Gilbert Snijders).
The picture above shows the referees with American Zone President Jose Guandique (far left).

June 10, 2006
Official Practice, technical meeting, Opening Ceremony

June 11, 2006
Singles event

June 12, 2006
Doubles event

June 13, 2006
Team event

June 14, 2006
Masters - Round Robin match play (8 games)

June 15, 2006
Masters - Round Robin match play (8 games)
Closing Ceremony and Award Presentation

June 16, 2006
Departure of the delegations